In Which Karkat is Confused 50 Percent of the Time
by nacos
Summary: Jade works in the garden center at Wal-Mart and Karkat just wants to have a stable relationship which may involve several trips to the aforementioned garden center. JadeKat main. Many side pairings included, though not always focused on.
1. Meeting

**In this setting, trolls are a recently discovered species found on Earth. Troll-rights has become a recent practice and hate-crimes are at an unfortunate high. I won't be going into detail much on this because that isn't what I want the focus to be about. Most of the time it will only be mentioned when it effects a character directly.**

If Karkat were to honestly describe his relationship with Terezi, he would say that it was turbulent at best.

They were in an on-again-off-again relationship, one that never seemed to even start or end well. Karkat was - unsurprisingly - the one who started all the fights. He was also always the one to come back. The fights started when Karkat thought he didn't deserve her crap and ended when he realized he was nothing without her. Terezi, overall, was apathetic about their relationship, Karkat realized later on in their journey. He feels as though he is the only one who strives to make it into some semblance of a relationship.

That's not to say either of the trolls were in the wrong, oh no. The two just had different ideas of a relationship.

This particular fight started when Karkat came home after being fired - again - from his crappy job at Petco for yelling at a child so much they started to cry. Apparently tapping the fish tank did not count under the minute list of reasons you can yell at a customer. Karkat felt as if his job at Petco was like his relationship with Terezi. Petco isn't going to hire him again some day, just like, one day, Terezi may not take him back.

Pissed off for the afternoon, Karkat wasted no time in beginning in a monologue about appreciating your partner and simultaneously filling a bag full of his clothes when he saw his "girlfriend" straddling the hips of her usual fling: the douche bag who never takes of his sunglasses.

And here we find Karkat, translucent red tears running down his gray cheeks as he drove around in his crappy faded red Mazda 323.

Already, he realized he wanted to go back to Terezi, apologize for calling her a "stupid, blind slut", and go back to his normal routine with her. He wanted Sunglasses Guy to disappear so he could be the only one to hold her up and tell her that she is _so, so beautiful_ because she can't even tell.

On the other side of the coin, he knew that he was always going to come back to Terezi as long as she lets him. He had no job now, not to mention the fact that Terezi was the only one who put up with his bullshit.

"His bullshit" being the fact that he was the most self-deprecating fuck in the natural world. Not only was a troll - lesser to humans - he was lesser to the trolls too. Mutation ran deep into his red blood and he was certain that he was worse than the scum built up from a pool never cleaned a day in its life.

But the teal-blood's favorite color is red and sometimes Karkat thinks that is the only thing that is keeping her with him.

That's why Karkat finds himself in the parking lot of a Wal-Mart Supercenter, fidgeting nervously. He felt as if he should come back bearing a gift, as if that would make Terezi forget about all of shit he has put her through. He hoped that maybe, it would soften any blow she might deal him.

He pulled down the visor from above the steering wheel, looking into the mirror and dabbing at this eyes with the sleeve of his sweater. His face was swollen and his hair a mess, but he knew from experience it would become untraceable to the naked eye - or rather, tongue - by the time he gets home to Terezi. He gathered eventually that he read a lot more into detail than most did, often being quick to observe a person from where they stand and guess what they are, but Terezi was a lot better at that, being an aspiring lawyer.

Karkat spent most of the time going through the aisles, everywhere from beauty - "No, Terezi doesn't wear that much makeup." to food - "But she doesn't eat all that often..." before he finally made his way to the garden center.

He wandered around, muted, muddy red eyes jumping from fertilizer to lawn mowers, and then finally settling on the automatic doors that led to the outside portion.

The warm wind blew his already disheveled black hair as he continued to jump from place to place. At last, he decided on flowers. Terezi was always complaining about how their apartment patio never tasted right. "The yellow tulips always clash with the taste of the red chairs." She would say upon being questioned why she was throwing away perfectly good flowers. It was the subject of many fights. But now Karkat knew to stay out of the way; Terezi was always antsy and _different_ whenever a room didn't taste right. She also had Sunglasses Guy over a lot more.

Long rows of flowers welcomed Karkat as he sighed exasperatedly. There were way too many flowers to choose from. Karkat was never any good at gardening - or anything regarding decor - so he normally left it Terezi. He remembered why, now, as he attempted to find out the difference between carnations and chrysanthemums besides just looks. He had to get this right or else Terezi would probably throw him out for threatening the feng-shui of their apartment.

"Do you need any help finding what you're looking for?" The voice was odd. The owner stumbled slightly over pronunciation of her 'ing's and 'd's. She pronounced 'you're' as a weird median between 'your' and 'you are'. It was mostly untraceable but Karkat's superior - in comparison to humans, anyway - hearing picked up all the lilts and pitches in her voice.

Karkat jumped, turning to come face to face with an employee.

One brief look told Karkat that the owner of the odd voice was very, well, attractive. Long, black, messy hair billowed in the wind, whipping lazily every which-way around a tanned face. Green eyes colored with amusement glowed from behind big, circular, thin-framed glasses. An equally amused smile beamed back at him, all pink lips and slightly protruding buck-teeth. The soft curve of her neck traveled until it hid under a dark blue polo-shirt which covered her still-apparent curves. The khaki slacks hugged her legs until they bunched around the ankles, leading to some sort of black slip-ons.

Overall Karkat noticed her body shape was a lot softer looking - as most humans were - and filled in in comparison to Terezi's bones and sharp angles. Her skin was dark compared to the pale gray of his own skin, hiding under the sweater he kept around his torso, even in early September. Karkat was no expert in human races, but he still couldn't help but wonder as to where she was from. At first glance one would think she was Asian, but looking further, he could tell that here were definitely some Hispanic attributes.

He ceased his analysis on the employee before it got too awkward. _Okay, Karkat. Don't clam up in front of the human. She probably can't even tell you're a red-blood. Say something at least half-eloquent._

"Huh?"

It took a few seconds for Karkat to realize he was the one who had dumbly stuttered out the interjection.

"I asked if you needed any help finding something." Her smile grew wider.

The troll felt his face heat up and knitted her eyebrows together. She had a really weird accent. Curiosity building, Karkat couldn't bring his usual angry, shouty facade up to block his emotions. His brain panicked and he hastily tried to brush all thoughts about the employee out of his reverie.

"I uh..." He began to fidget, looking everywhere but the girl. His eyes connected with hers, desperate to find something to be angry about. He happily welcomed the scowl on his face when he noticed that she was considerably taller than him. "Fuck you, I didn't ask for any help. If I needed help, why the hell would I sit here like a handicapped wriggler instead of asking for it? I'm not three sweeps old you stupid bitch. Oh, wait, you're a human. Should I translate that to years for you? Or how about you save us both time and go ahead and do whatever hate-crime you're planning on whenever I walk back to my car alone. I was already thinking about just letting it happen and not fight back the inevitable, you know? Maybe I should just go ahead and die so you stupid humans and highbloods can have a better day without my mutant blood marring your life in some way, shape or form!"

The employee frowned, but it didn't seem to be directed towards Karkat. She looked as if she was holding something back as she ground out a "So what kinda flowers are you looking for?" Her smile returned, but there was this knot in between her brows that Karkat had to consciously make an effort to not smooth out.

The troll felt his resolve breaking as he noticed her regard the flowers softly, smoothing invisible creases on a petal close to her hand's original position.

"I've tried to do my best in keeping the flowers in tip-top shape in this heat." She said conversationally, gathering back her thick tresses into a ponytail holder on her wrist and quickly wrapping it into a well-practiced, messy bun. "Though as you can imagine, nobody's perfect." She removed a dried, crunchy leaf from the bed of soil in a pot holding some pink flower Karkat didn't know the name of. "They need to be watered soon so be sure you do that when you take yours home."

"Something red." Karkat blurted out. When the employee looked at him inquisitively, he pointedly looked away. "My matespr-my girlfriend's favorite color is red and she wants something for our patio. I figured this would make her happy or some dumb shit like that."

The employee beamed at the sign of cooperation. "Oh you're adorable!" She giggled. It was the dorkiest giggle that Karkat had ever heard. She snorted a little and squeezed her big green eyes shut.

"I am not -" Karkat was about to begin when the human cut him off by briskly walking a ways down the rows, twisting and turning to get a full view of all the flowers they had to offer. She pointed at a few and shook her head at others and Karkat could hear her mumble to herself saying "Oh, that would be good! Wait no, that's too big. That one is perfect! No, no what am I saying, the color is all wrong."

Karkat imagined if she was in a dress that it would be flowing wildly with her movement and the wind would carry her hair in its breeze as she bent down to inspect a plant. He shook his head quickly to dispel the thoughts. The employee stopped and grinned. "I know just the one." Looking around quickly, her eyes paused on a row of flowers next to the one they were at. She walked backwards a ways and then took a stance. Karkat watched as her back foot pushed off the concrete and sent her sprinting towards the next row of flowers. Suddenly, she jumped, raising one leg perpendicular below her and the other stretched out, each high enough to not get caught on the flowers below.

Landing, she wasted no time in recovering and grabbing a flowerpot of 3 red flowers and holding it above her head like a trophy.

"What the ever-loving fuck was that." Karkat fixed her with an incredulous look.

"I was in Track & Field in high school. Jumped a lot of hurdles in my day." She said, as if that explained everything. "Plus this way's quicker." She grinned. Karkat came to the conclusion that this was the weirdest Wal-Mart employee he's ever met.

She walked around the rows this time, cradling the flowerpot to her chest. "Oh, now you decide to take ten fucking years. Hurry the hell up. I have to catch her before she decides to lock the deadbolt and never let me in so I have to spend my nights in my crappy little car. Then I have to go a find another job by myself while living off of beef ramen cups and toilet water. Do you really want to be held responsible for that? Do you?" Karkat knew he was being dramatic, but he couldn't deny the fact that he thought it was going to happen.

When the employee met up with him, she handed him the pot, their fingers brushing against the plastic. "These are carnations. Do they seem to be what you're looking for?" She tilted her head slightly. Karkat couldn't tell whether he respected or hated her for ignoring his pitiful rants, as if he had never said anything. He stared at the flowers. They were very pretty and he hoped Terezi would deem them worthy of their patio.

"Yeah. Thanks I gues - "

An old woman approached the two, looking pointedly away from Karkat as he quickly ended his sentence. He knew why. It seemed the older adults from human culture were harder to convince on the subject of troll-human equality. Karkat was used to the disrespect he had received from old humans, but that didn't stop the dull sting in his heart. "Excuse me, miss? Do you know where I might find the hedge shears?"

"Yes ma'am, right this way." The employee said, hastily turning to Karkat. "You can pick out a pot for the flowers over there. If I'm not done with the customer by the time you're done, just go inside and pay for it there. Bye!" She pointed to some shelves on the far wall next to a set of trees and then waved.

Karkat scowled at her. "Fuck off."

The old woman looked extremely offended, but let herself be led away by the employee, disappearing around the corner.

Karkat pretended he wasn't stalling when he was choosing a flower pot. Really, he couldn't decide between terracotta and porcelain. He didn't even know why he would do something so stupid as stalling. She was just a stupid, attractive Wal-Mart employee. He's seen attractive people before - troll, human, boy, girl - so why is she any different? Besides, he doesn't even know her name. _Come to think of it_, he wonders, _why isn't she wearing a name tag?_

He doesn't know why this bothers him so much. He continues pondering the stupid girl and what her stupid name might be as he pretends to look at pots. He wonders if she would have a name matching her nationality. Not that he can really tell what it is. "This is dumb." He mutters, feeling his cheeks grow warm.

When he looks up, he notices her coming his way and he ducks his head, grabbing a random pot he found suitable in that second. When he turns around, he sees the employee sitting in front of a fan clamped to a support beam next to the register and he notices that she looks really worn out. She has bags under her eyes that rival his own, but her's are less noticeable, blending more into her skin.

The employee gives a tired smile and absently waves at Karkat. "Did you find a good pot?" She puts the flowers in the new pot and squints at the ensemble through her glasses, her tongue sticking out of her teeth in concentration. "This will be marvelous." Her smile looks a lot less tired now and she relaxes. "Do you think your girlfriend will like it?"

Karkat's scowl deepened. "If I didn't think she'd like it, then why the hell would I buy it?"

The woman stares at him. Really stares. Karkat felt bare, as if his super thick sweater wasn't doing anything to block her soft green eyes.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked, and somehow Karkat knew she was talking about his problem with Terezi. Suddenly his sweater seems too large, too hot, too suffocating. He's never talked to anyone about his problems with Terezi. Never the details. All his friends know he and Terezi aren't exactly stable, but they didn't know how bad it could get. Karkat pushed the idea of sharing it away. Why would he tell her of all people?

The first thing he notices is a concerned frown and the employee pointing the fan in his direction. "Are you okay? Maybe you should take off your sweater." The troll visibly loosens at the cool breeze the fan brings. "No, shut up. Just ring up my stuff you stupid fuck." He bit, looking dazedly at the sun setting behind the girl.

She scowled and went along scanning his stuff. Karkat decided it was more of a pout than a scowl as it did nothing to scare him. If anything, he felt as if she was a small growling puppy. "Will that be all for you today, sir?"

Karkat felt the "sir" was too formal. It was like the employee had been a longtime childhood friend that he had just reunited with after many sweeps. That said, he couldn't fight the feeling of obligation as he grabbed a Butterfinger bar from beside the register and slammed it down.

_Fuck. I don't even like Butterfingers_. Karkat berated himself. _Why the fuck did I do that?_ He looked up slightly at the employee, blushing a little as she gave a small, sweet smile and rang up the candy bar. _Well, humans like the stuff, for some dumb ass reason._

"Your total will be $34.92."

Karkat jumped as though he forgot he was going to have to pay for all this and he scrambled to get his wallet out of his back pocket. He slid his credit card in the machine and put it away before signing his signature. "Have a nice day, Mr. Vantas!" She said, handing him his receipt and his things.

"Just call me Karkat, you dumbfuck. Why the hell do people think using someone's surname is all formal? It's just damn stupid. Fuck last names."_Fuck fuck fuck! Why did I say that?! Shit, now she's going to think that I want to talk to her more than this because I told her to call me Karkat but I don't, I hate her stupid attractive face and her stupid fucking nationality and fuck that stupid broad._ Flustering and fidgeting, Karkat pulled the Butterfinger from his bag and threw it at the employee. It hit her square on the forehead and he heard her squeak. "Hey, that hurt, you fuckass!"

Karkat didn't allow himself time to feel shock at her sudden language as he bellowed "I hate Butterfingers!" And ran to this car.

He did, however, allow himself a grin that was way too big and probably really scary as he pulled out from his parking space.


	2. Breaking

By the time Karkat pulled into their driveway, his grin was wiped off his face and nervousness had set in. He set his bag on his shoulder and hugged the pot of carnations to his chest.

If asked, he would not admit to keeping his closed fist poised above the door in preparation to knock for almost 5 minutes. _I'm going to knock. I just spaced out for a bit. That's all._ He wondered briefly why he was trying to convince himself of such.

Just as he was about to rap on the wood quietly, the door opened to reveal Terezi grinning her razor-sharp smile. "Are you ready to come in now, Karkles?" Was all she got out before the flowers were thrust into into her chest. "For the patio." Karkat muttered, watching Terezi's long gray tongue curved along one of the flowers.

"Good choice, Karkat." She said, turning quickly and practically floating to the patio doors. Karkat followed, setting his bag onto the couch.

She put the pot in the place where the yellow tulips once stood. Her tongue shot out experimentally, tasting the air. "Perfect." She turned to give Karkat a hug which he welcomed gratefully.

The next few weeks had gone without a hitch. Karkat and Terezi had gone on their first date in months (they went to see Brave. Many a sloppy makeout was performed in the back of the theater), Terezi seemed pleased with the patio arrangements, Karkat got his job back (his friend Sollux works in management), and he hadn't seen a single hair on Sunglasses Guy's head.

On this particular morning, Karkat had the rest of the day off of work. He unlocked the front door and pushed it open. The living room was surprisingly empty and dark, save for Terezi's laptop glowing from where it sat.

From the doorway, he could see Terezi sitting on the patio with Sunglasses Guy. They weren't doing anything in particular, but Terezi looked distressed, a rare occurrence. Her companion had a scowl on his face, something also rare.

Karkat didn't know why he snuck to the slightly cracked patio door to listen to their conversation. He didn't know why his insides were about to explode. All he knew was that he wanted Sunglasses Guy gone and Terezi smiling her sharp smile like things have been for the past 2 weeks.

"You should come with me to – " The teal-blood abruptly stopped and Karkat took a chance to look out the crack in the door.

Sunglasses Guy and Terezi were both looking at him, smirk and shark smile in place. "Vantas, you have got to be the worst sneak in the world." The blonde said.

"Shut the hell up. Why are you here?" Karkat growled out, staring at this feet with a glare and pulling his sweater closer in defense.

"I was just leaving." He replied, coolly standing and putting a hand on Terezi's head between her horns. "I'll pester you later, TZ."

She turned to Sunglasses Guy, expression blocked from Karkat's vision. "Bye cool-kid." There was a tinge of _something_ to her voice. Karkat pretended to not notice the way Sunglasses Guy's hand lingered on Terezi's head, as if he was saying a final good-bye.

There was a thick, almost tangible silence long after he left and Karkat felt as if he was choking. Terezi had not turned her head from the spot where Sunglasses Guy had stood.

"Terezi – "

"A ficus would look good in the corner over there." She interrupted, face still hidden. "Didn't you say you were going to Wal-Mart today? Stop by the garden center."

The employee immediately wormed her way into his reverie and Karkat wondered if he would possibly see her again today. He pushed out the thought when Terezi stood up and made her way to the living room, pulling her laptop onto her skinny legs and typing briskly with nimble fingers.

Karkat had a feeling he was nicely being kicked out. "I'll be back, I guess." He said slowly, making his way to the door.

"Eat lunch without me." Terezi said, eyes not moving from their spot on the laptop screen.

"Kay." Karkat felt unnaturally subdued. He closed the door behind him and made his way back to his car. Next thing Karkat realizes, he's in the parking lot at Wal-Mart, staring dazedly at the at the car parked in front of him. He shook his head quickly to clear it. He didn't even want to think about what Sunglasses Guy and Terezi were talking about. Getting out of the car, he walked towards the garden center, finding solace in the thoughts it brought.

He wondered if the employee was wearing her nametag this time. It felt weird referring to her as "the employee" all the time. He didn't even know why he thought about her. She was just a weird, dorky, attractive Wal-Mart employee with an odd accent and undecidable nationality.

Karkat entered the garden center entrance and looked around. Come to think of it, he didn't even know what the hell a ficus looked like, let alone what is was or where to find it. A sweeping glance showed him that there was only on employee present, but it wasn't _the_ employee. He didn't have time to recognize the feeling in the pit of his stomach as disappointment.

"Karkat!"

At the sound of his name being yelled across the center, he whirled around, heart employee wasn't even wearing her uniform this time, much less her nametag. She was wearing a flowing white cotton sundress with small green leaves dispersed equally throughout the pattern. On her feet, surprisingly, were a pair of white tennis shoes, which she was unsurprisingly able to pull off.

"It's so nice to see you here! I was about to go on my lunch break, but is there anything I can help you find?" Her grin seemed brighter today, but her eyes seemed to be bit more baggier.

"Go on your damn break, I'll just get one of these other idiots to help." Karkat crossed his arms and looked to see if there was anything that looked like it would have the name "ficus".

She laughed as if Karkat was the funniest thing in the world. "Consider this thanks for the Butterfinger!"

"I only gave it to you because I hate Butterfingers, that's all!"

"Sure, sure." There was a knowing twinkle in her eye that Karkat would _not_ describe as cute. "What are you looking for?"

Karkat sighed in defeat. "What the fuck is a ficus?"

"It's a small tree good for porches and things of that sort. They're very strong; hard to kill. Follow me!" Jade took off, full of energy as always.

The troll reluctantly complied – though he knew he wasn't _that_ reluctant – and followed her to the back wall. "These are ficus." She said, pointing behind her with her thumb. She bent down and picked up a shiny red pot, holding it up. "Oh, your girlfriend will love this, am I right?" She grinned stunningly.

Karkat found himself wanting to grin but held back. Her smile was infectious. The lack of response did nothing to deter the girl from happiness as she put the pot into Karkat's arms and picked up a nice looking ficus. "Let's go pay!"

Karkat hated the way the girl rendered him speechless. He struggled to find something to say that wasn't a string of "uhh"s. They made it to the cashier and set down the items.

"Uhh, what are you still doing here? Your break started 10 minutes ago." The cashier, a brown-blooded troll, looked at his watch. "Just helping one of my favorite customers." The girl said happily.

At the mention of Karkat, the brown-blood turned to regard him, but let out a raspy gasp. "That's, uhh, Karkat!"

The girl next to him gasped too. "You mean _this_ is _Karkat_? Oh my goodness I'm such an idiot, why didn't I make that connection? How many short, angry red-blooded trolls named Karkat are there?"

Karkat bristled. "Shut the fuck up, I'm not short!"

The other two shared a laugh. "Yep, that's Karkat! Oh man, I'm so glad I finally got to meet you! I've heard so many great things about you." The girl clapped her hands in amusement and Karkat thinks he's never witnessed anyone this happy to see him in his whole life.

"Calm the fuck down! How do you two idiots know me?" Karkat growled, but neither of the two were affected.

"Karkat, I'm uhh, I'm Tavros." He received a blank look. "I'm Gamzee's matesprit."

It was Karkat's turn to give a look of shock. "Gamzee?"

Tavros nodded, a grin set in place. "I was Gamzee's matesprit a month before before, uhh, you know..." he trailed off awkwardly before shaking his head and pulling back up the conversation. "He probably didn't get much time to, uhh, talk to you about me."

Karkat swallowed slowly and tried to digest the situation. "Gamzee...is he...did he ever...?"

The brown-blood's smile grew. "He's in his last week of rehab. He gets out this weekend."

The employee next to Karkat seemed to buzz with excitement. "Tav, when do you get off of work? We should all go meet up with him for dinner!"

Karkat recovered from his shock long enough to spit out a question. "Wait, so who the fuck are you? I get that Tavros is his matesprit, but why the hell are you here?"

The girl frowned at him. "Hey, I don't have to take this from you, you jerk! Not while I'm off duty." She raises a tan fist at him, looking only slightly menacing.

Okay, maybe really menacing.

"Shut up!" Karkat squeaks, at a loss for words.

"Guys! You, uhh, could still get in trouble. Just introduce yourself; everyone knows you're a pacifist anyway." Tavros was quick to nip the fight in the bud. Karkat readily pushes thoughts of ashen quadrants and turns to the girl inquisitively.

She loosens her fist and extends a hand. "My name is Jade Harley." Karkat looks at her hand like it's covered in germs. She leans forward and uses her other hand to force Karkat to participate in the handshake.

"Jade's my moirail. Though I suppose we act more in the human "friendship" sort of way." Tavros explained. Karkat withdrew his hand from Jade's and crossed his arms again. "Fan-fucking-tastic. Even a damn human can fill their quadrants better than I can and these pink monkeys don't even practice the shit."

Tavros looked genuinely confused. "What do you mean? Isn't Terezi your matesprit?" Karkat wondered how much of his life story was shared with these idiots.

"Look, I don't want to fucking talk about it." _Way to go, Karkat. Make it as awkward as fucking possible._ The brown-blood fidgeted nervously. "So, uhh, Jade. I get off around 5. Do you think you could give Gamzee a call and tell him to come to the usual spot around then?"

Jade nodded enthusiastically. "Karkat, you're coming too, right? Gamzee will be so happy to see you!"

Karkat scoffed. "Of course I am." He still sounded defensive, as if they were questioning his relationship with the troll. _Then again, I haven't exactly been giving them any evidence of how great of a moirail I am._

"Wonderful!" Jade looked at the watch on her wrist casually and then did a double-take. "Dang it, I only have 30 minutes left for lunch." She seemed like she was turning to leave, but then she paused and turned back with a small simper. "Uhm, Karkat. Would you like to join me for lunch?"

Karkat cocked a brow. "Why the hell would I want to eat lunch with you?" He was glad he kept the real question from escaping his gray lips. _Why would you want to eat lunch with me?_

The girl wore a frown. "Hey, you could've just said no! You don't have to be a jerk about everything." She turned to leave again. "Bye Tav."

The red-blood immediately regretted his decision in saying no. He held his hand back with his other, to keep from grabbing Jade's wrist. "Bye Jade. See you later." Tavros waved and turned to Karkat. "Well, let's, uhh, scan your items."

The silence was awkward, nothing but the sound of cars and the beeping of the register. "You know, uhh," Tavros paused, looking down at the ficus nervously. "Jade always eats at the Panera Bread across the street. If you hurry, you could still eat with her." When fixed with a glare, the brown-blood went back to scanning. "Just something to think about." He pressed a few buttons on the register. "Your, uhh, total is $43.73."

If he were to be asked about it, Karkat would have denied any implications that he was being quicker in his movements. He slid his card and signed his signature. Tavros handed him his ficus in the pot along with his receipt. "Hey, uhh, thanks for deciding to come see Gamzee. This'll mean the world to him."

"Yeah, whatever." Karkat grabbed the ficus. He wanted to tell Tavros that it means the world to him too, that he's just as excited to see Gamzee.

He rushed out of the center and acted like he didn't hear Tavros' soft chuckle. He pushed the ficus into the passenger seat. His head swiveled around quickly to look for the Panera Bread. He fought the swell in his chest at the realization that not only is it close by, but he could see Jade exiting a small Volkswagen Beetle. Minding basic driving laws, he sped as fast as he could to the adjacent parking lot, pulling up safely next to Jade's car.

_I can't believe I'm doing this._ Karkat facepalmed. He pulled his sweater close, despite the sweat collecting at his brow. He wanted so badly to go back into the safety of his car and hide from Jade. _Does this count as cheating?_ Karkat didn't know why the thought crossed his mind. But he couldn't really fight it back. _As much as I hate to admit it, I am attracted to the fucking pink monkey. But fuck, I'm not flushed for her. She's just..._Karkat violently shook his head. _There's no way I'm flushed for anyone but Terezi. End of discussion. She's just a friend. Not even that._

The troll pushed the glass doors open, the rush of cool air conditioning erasing the blasphemy from his head. Scanning the restaurant, he could see Jade settling into a booth with a sandwich, chips, and a green tea. He sauntered across the restaurant, deciding just to go for it, without preamble. He plopped himself across from Jade, staring pointedly out the window.

There was a moment of silence before Jade spoke. "Want the other half of my sandwich?" Karkat finally met her eyes. She had the knowing twinkle in her jade eyes again. "I always save the other half for dinner, but since we're all getting dinner together, I have a spare half." She ended her with a crunch of potato chip. "And I'll share my drink if you get another straw."

Karkat glared at her. "I don't need your damn food."

The human sighed, as if she had been dealing with Karkat for years. "Watch my stuff." She said, getting up from the booth and disappearing around the corner. When she returned, she was holding a plate and a straw. She sat back down and immediately got to work. She took one half of the sandwich, half of the chips, and even half of the pickle and placed it on the other plate. Tan hands pushed it Karkat's way and the sight of food made his stomach sing.

He gave up on his rough act and cradled the sandwich in his hand. After taking a bite, he looked up at Jade. "So what the fuck are you anyway?"

She cringed. "One, talk without food in your mouth. Two, "what the fuck" do you mean?"

Karkat made no effort to close his mouth. "What are you? Like race or what the fuck ever."

Jade, however, took the time to chew her food. "I'm Hawaiian, you jerkass. Born and raised." She frowned in thought. "Do trolls have different races?"

He paused to shove a potato chip in his mouth. "Unless you count hemotypes as a race, no."

The girl tapped her chin. "Well if you think about it, hemotypes could be races. Lowbloods could be compared to how black people used to be treated back in the day, and then highbloods could be counted as white. And then of course there are sea-dwellers who think they're better, so that could be counted too. But just as all races are equal, all blood types should be equal. Though, that's not the case."

Even though she is human, Jade looked as if she were talking from experience. Karkat ventured that Tavros must have been subjected to many hate-crimes as Karkat had, and Jade and Gamzee must have had to console him on many an occasion. On that note, being seen with Gamzee must have cut Tavros a lot of slack, since Gamzee was a highblood.

"Yeah, well, we can't always get what we want." Karkat said bitterly, shoving the last of his sandwich into his mouth.

Jade seemed sad. "Do you ever...you know?"

"Do I ever what? Be the victim of a hate-crime? More often than not. If I travel with a highblood or a human, I don't generally get attacked." Karkat chewed on the pickle, looking distant. "But hey, who gives a fuck about what happens to me. I'm just a mutant lowblood."

There was a silence that made Karkat look up.

Jade had on the most pissed off looking pout in the world. It was adorable yet menacing in its ferocity. "Karkat Vantas, you listen here. You have a brown-blood who gives a fuck about you, a purple-blood who gives a fuck about you, a teal-blood who gives a fuck about you, and me, I give tons of fucks about you. So don't say that." She clenched her fists. "We don't care about what blood color you have. If anything, I like your red blood because it makes me feel closer to you than other trolls."

Karkat couldn't fight the blush rising to his face. That Jade had cared about him that much, having not known him for that long, touched Karkat._Then again,_ he thought,_ Jade's known me longer than I've know her._

"Yeah, yeah, what the fuck ever." He said flippantly, not at all showing how he really felt.

Jade had the knowing twinkle in her eyes again and Karkat was beginning to find it endearing. "Gamzee's good at portraying you correctly." She commented, staring at him in wonder.

Karkat secured the frown on his face to keep from letting the curiosity show. "What the fuck did he say about me?"

The human grinned. "All sorts of things. Namely that you are the world's greatest moirail." She smiled. "Most of the visits were talking about you. Gamzee thinks the world of you. Tav and I have been waiting forever to meet you. Like...2 years?"

"When did Gamzee...uhm..."

"A few weeks after you left." Jade answered. "It took a while for him to get used to it. The same thing happened as last time, so we had to relocate him a few times."

Karkat raised a brow. "Last time? What do you mean?"

The girl frowned a bit. "You know, the first time Gamzee tried to get into rehab? You were there..." Her eyebrows knitted together. "Oh my God, he didn't tell you, did he?"

"What the fuck are you talking about?" The troll raised his voice, sounding frantic.

"I...don't think it's my place to tell you, especially if Gamzee didn't tell us. I'm sorry, Karkat." Jade gave him a sheer look of pity that made Karkat's face flush redder than ever.

"A-At least try and cover your pity." His voice was embarrassingly high. He coughed into his hand to at least recover some of his dignity.

Jade looked confused. "What do you – Oh my God." Realization lit up her features. "Karkat, I swear, I didn't mean to hit on you! I – I just..." Her face was dusted a light pink. "I'm so sorry, I forgot."

"Fuck, it's fine. I'm one of the few idiot trolls who actually still worries about pity and filling quadrants. Most have conformed to your stupid ass ways." Karkat picked at the skin around his nails, glaring bitterly.

Jade rested her head onto her hand. "Is that what's going on with Terezi?"

Karkat turned his glare to the girl. "And why the hell should I tell you?"

She pouted. "Because Gamzee won't. He said "If ya'll wanna know then ya'll should all up and motherfucking ask 'em when you see 'em.""

A small, gravelly chuckle bubbled it's way out of Karkat's mouth. "That was the worst fucking impression of Gamzee I've ever heard in my entire life."

Jade wore a soft smile on her face. "What?" Karkat wiped his face. He figured he had food somewhere.

"You do have a cute smile."

Karkat started to fidget. Jade was giving him an odd look. He panicked. "Terezi doesn't do quadrants anymore." _Shit, why did I say that?_

Jade leaned forward. "Go on?"

The troll heaved a sigh and continued. "I had asked Terezi to be my matesprit 3 years ago. Originally, she had declined. She said she didn't follow the troll culture anymore. Then she told me that she would, however, be my girlfriend. And here we are."

The human gave him a look of sheer surprise. "Wait...is this Terezi Pyrope?"

"What the fuck about her?"

"Do you know someone named Dave Strider?"

"Sounds like a douche-bag."

Jade frowned. "Nevermind." She shook her head and looked down at her watch. "Anyway, thank you for eating lunch with me, Karkat. I have to go back to work." She took a quick sip of the green tea then pushed it to Karkat. "You can keep it." She adjusted the strap on her bag "Oh yeah," she reached into her purse and pulled out a pen and a notepad in the shape of a pumpkin. She scribbled something onto the paper and put it next to Karkat. "I forgot. That's the address to the usual place. Below that is my phone number in case you need any help."

Karkat gave her a half-hearted glare, but didn't say anything as he grabbed the green tea and stood next to her.

"Remember, come around five." Jade grinned, her buck-teeth showing slightly. "See you later."

The troll waved lazily. "Uhh..." He kicked his foot, sending a few stray crumbs flying. "Thanks for the food or whatever." He looked down at his shoes.

Jade touched Karkat's elbow. "Anytime." The two walked out together and she waved one more time before donning sunglasses and ducking into her car. Karkat sat down into the driver's seat. He stayed still until Jade drove away. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Deciding he wasn't going to entertain any thoughts about what _the hell_ just happened, Karkat pulled out of his parking spot and made his way home. He rolled down the windows and cranked up the radio to both cool down the warmth in his cheeks and not give his brain enough room to think.

When he makes it home, he is greeted with nothing but silence. "Terezi?" He sets the ficus down next to the doorway and looks around the house for Terezi. It's a quick chore as their house is the size of a small apartment. "Terezi, where the fuck are you?"

_Guess she went out..._ Karkat scratched the back of his head and took out his phone. As much as he disliked to admit, he hated it when Terezi did that without telling him. _I mean she's blind for fuck's sake._ He never brought it up to the teal-blood because she was simply too prideful. So he mainly just complains that it costs too much for her to take the bus all the time and he should drive her.

He sent a few texts her way.

THANKS FOR TELLING ME YOU DECIDED TO VACATE THE HOUSE. YOU KNOW I LOVE IT WHEN THAT HAPPENS.

FUCK, YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE ME DIE AN EARLY DEATH. LOOK, JUST LET ME KNOW IF YOU'RE ALRIGHT.

Karkat pocketed his phone and plopped himself on the couch, reaching for the TV remote. He's blinking slowly and at some point he's thinking he's had his eyes closed for a long while. He looks at the clock on the wall. "3:47." Karkat whispers to himself and rubs his eyes. _Must have fallen asleep._

He picks up his phone, fully expecting to have received a text from Terezi. He feels his stomach dropping in his abdomen when his phone is devoid of any text alert messages. He speed dials Terezi's number and taps his foot impatiently.

"Hello - "

"Terezi!"

"You have reached Terezi Pyrope - "

Karkat slammed his phone on the ground. "Fuck!" He picks it up and dials her number again, pacing around the room.

"Hello, you have reached - "

"God dammit!"

"Hello, you - "

"Shit!"

"Hello - "

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!"

Karkat shoved his phone into his pocket and grabbed his keys from the table. He quickly jogged to his car and yanked the door open. He wasted no time in pulling out of the driveway. Speeding dangerously, he grabbed for his phone again and pressed speed dial.

"Sup?"

"Sollux, have you seen Terezi anywhere?"

"No. Why?"

Karkat slammed his hands on the steering wheel and let out another curse. "She isn't answering her phone and it's been 3 hours!"

"Calm down." He could tell the yellow-blood wasn't calm, himself. "Have you checked the college?"

"I'm doing that right now."

"Keep calling her. I'll call all our mutual friends." Karkat nodded, then remembered Sollux couldn't see him. "Sure." He hung up and quickly called Terezi.

"Hello. You have reached Terezi Pyrope. Obviously, if you're hearing this message then I'm not able to pick up the phone. Just leave a message and I'll get back to you. Or not." The troll recognizes that message as the one she's had for 3 years now.

"Terezi, where the fuck are you? It's one thing to leave without fucking telling me, but at least answer your damn phone."

This continues the entire duration of the ride to the college, Karkat calling and leaving voicemails escalating in language and volume. By the time Karkat's reached the college, he's left several messages. He glanced at the clock. 4:05. He burst through the double doors and runs through the corridors and into the main office. "Has Terezi Pyrope showed up to any of her classes today? I'm Karkat Vantas, I'm on her emergency contacts."

The lady at the desk types on her keyboard wearily. "She was reported to have left in the middle of her first one of the day."

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!"

The woman looked offended. Karkat rolled his eyes and ran out the door, back into his car. He resumed his earlier practice of calling repeatedly. Deciding to check Terezi's usual bus stop, he sped in the opposite direction of the college. He jumped out of his car and to the bus stop. He waited until a bus arrived and he jogged in, showing the driver a picture of the teal-blood. "Have you seen her on your bus today?"

All the driver had to do was shake his head and Karkat was propelled out of the bus and back into his car. His phone went off and his heart sped up, only to feel disappointment when it wasn't Terezi.

"What?"

"Have you seen her yet?" Sollux sounded calm, but his lisp was worse than it usually was.

"No. Dammit all to hell. I'm going to assume that no one else has either." Karkat raked his mind of where to look. He turned his glare to the clock. 4:30. "Shit, Sollux, I'm gonna have to call you later." He hung up the phone and went through his pockets, pulling out a small crumpled paper. He dialled Jade's number.

"Hello?"

"Harley." He cringed. "I can't make it today."

He could practically feel her frown through the phone. "Why not?"

"Well," he sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Terezi went missing."

Jade gasped. "Are you serious?"

"Why the hell would I joke about that?" Karkat snapped.

"Sorry...just. I'll get Tavros and Gamzee to help look for her. Would she have any reason to leave the area?"

"No."

"Okay," There was a shuffling coming through the receiver and Karkat could hear her start her car. "I'm going to call Tavros and tell them to split up. I'll call you if anything happens."

"Alright." Karkat paused. "Thanks."

"Of course." And then the line goes dead.

Karkat relaxes a little now that he and Sollux aren't the only two searching. He absently wonders how Gamzee will react to hearing about him. He wishes he knew Terezi was safe so he could go and see his ex-moirail after two long years.

He shakes his head. _I need to be focused on finding Terezi._ He dials Terezi's number again. By now, Karkat registers thunder roaring in the distance, clouds promising lots of rain. "Shit." _What if she's stuck in this mess?_

Karkat sped up and took the entrance ramp onto the highway. He continued calling Terezi repeatedly as he made his way to his next destination. He pulled into the Wal-Mart parking lot and looked at the clock. 4:56. _Terezi's been gone for almost 4 hours. Probably longer._ He began jogging hurriedly down each aisle for the teal-blood.

It was 5:30 when he had thoroughly gone through the entire store at least 3 times. He stopped by the entrance and bent over his knees, breathing loudly.

He pulled out his phone, moving to call Terezi again when his phone rang loudly. It was Jade. "Anything new?"

"Where are you?" She sounded out of breath and Karkat could hear a slamming door.

"Why the fuck does that matter? I'm not the one who's lost." He grumbled.

"I know where Terezi is. Just tell me where _you_ are." Her voice was weary.

Karkat felt his heart race. "I'm at Wal-Mart."

"Okay, I'm about 5 minutes away. Wait outside for me." She said curtly and the line went dead again.

The troll wanted to ponder on why she sounded so _angry_, but quite frankly, his mind was focused on Terezi. Where was she? Why was she gone for so long? Why wasn't she answering her phone? Jade didn't sound panicked, so Terezi was probably fine. His brain followed the same mindset of _Terezi, Terezi, Terezi_ as he walked out the door.

It started raining, and hard. Karkat couldn't see more than 50 ft away. He briefly wondered if Jade would get here safely, but his worries were gone as he saw the familiar green Volkswagen beetle pull up in front of him. He hurried to the passenger's door and pulled it open, ducking quickly into the car. Jade offered him a smile. Her hair was clinging to her forehead and her clothes were damp.

The car ride was silent. Karkat tried not to be curious, but failed when they pulled into a parking garage. "Where the hell are we?"

Jade smiled a smile that seemed just a little ironic. "You'll know when we get there." She hopped out of the car and Karkat followed suit as she paced briskly to an entrance and right into an elevator. When Karkat joined her, she pressed the worn button with a faded 10 printed on it. Jade's unnatural silence made Karkat nervous. The elevator dinged and the doors opened, revealing a long row of doors and a set of stairs. In front of one of the doors, Terezi sat, looking a mess.

Karkat took off running towards her. "Terezi!" He fell to his knees in front of her, hands on her shoulders. "Karkat, what the hell are you doing here?" She asked, looking genuinely shocked.

The troll didn't have time to answer as the door opened. It was Sunglasses Guy. "TZ, you should tell Vantas what's going on. As annoying as he is, it's still not cool of you to drag him on."

The teal-blood jumped up. "And what about you?" This was the first time Karkat had ever seen her this angry. "You don't think _you're_ dragging_me_ on?"

"I let you go 2 weeks ago. You're the one still holding on." He had a scowl on his face. "We've already had this fight and I don't think Vantas and Jade need to see it."

On cue, Jade walked up further. "You're at fault too, Dave. Have you even told my brother about Terezi yet? He's completely oblivious to the situation. You're lucky I could cover it up when I went to visit him the other day." Dave's face steeled, no expression showing. "I was planning on telling him when this whole business ended. So he wouldn't have to worry as much."

Karkat was completely confused. Was he the only one who didn't know what the hell was going on here?

"And Terezi," Jade turned to the teal-blood, who had slumped back onto the floor. "Karkat is the last person who deserves this. You need to decide how you feel about him before you hurt him even more and you need to do it now."

"Stop!"

Karkat realized the yell had been from him and he couldn't make himself stop. "Stop talking like I'm not fucking here! One of you better tell me what the fuck is going on or I will murder one of you and choke the rest with their entrails, so help me God. Starting with Sunglasses Guy."

Dave sighed. "Fuck, I'm tired of this." He rubbed his eyes under his glasses. "TZ and I were in a mutual relationship, you know? We came to each other whenever our partner wouldn't put out and shit. I didn't tell her I wasn't with John - Jade's bro - yet and she didn't tell me that she didn't even ask you. Anyways, we promised each other that we wouldn't get attached. I held that promise like a little pact baby and Terezi stone-cold dropped it like an abusive mom. This continued on for like two years, until about 2 weeks ago."

He paused, turning his gaze to the ground. "John was taken to the hospital. He was always a sickly little fuck, and I guess this made me realize that he could just up and leave me at any moment. So, I told Pyrope that I was ending all this shit. After that, I went and told Egbert how I felt and he turns out to feel the same way."

"Wait, so what the fuck were you doing at my house today?" Karkat felt a little numb and surprised at the fact he wasn't in a spitting rage.

This time Terezi spoke up, her voice hoarse. "I had called Dave over to try and convince him to run away with me. I found a college up north so I could better study law, but he insisted he stay with John and that he didn't belong with me." She paused, sounding like she was trying to swallow. "I had thought that Dave had felt the same, that he didn't really love John the way he says he does. Of course, I was wrong."

There was a silence through the hallway before Karkat asked another question, feeling small. "Have you really given up on the quadrants?"

"At first, no." Terezi pushed herself up and leaned against the wall behind her. "But when you asked me to be your matesprit, I knew I couldn't. I felt pity for you, but not in the way you were wanting. I decided I would let us be a human couple because there's something called an open relationship. That's what I was wanting." She made eye contact with Karkat and although she was blind, he felt her gaze was very eerie and knowing. "About the time you started human-loving me is when I started my relationship with Dave."

Karkat felt his body shake and he realized there were tears running down his face. _So all of that has been one-sided? This whole fucking time, Terezi hasn't felt a bit flushed for me? These past 3 years have been a lie?_ He squeezed his eyes shut.

"Karkat..." He registered the voice as Jade's and he felt her hands on his shoulders. "C'mon, let's go." He shrugged her hands off his shoulders.

Before he knew it, he was running at Dave, fist high in the air. The blonde didn't flinch when he saw the small, angry troll charging after him. Karkat's fist connect with Dave's face. The human shook it off.

Suddenly, Jade was in front of Karkat, holding Dave's fist and he realizes he was about to get punched back. "Do you really think Karkat deserves to be punched, Dave? I know your first instinct is to punch back, but just think about who's really getting the short end of the stick here." Jade pushed his fist back and Dave stumbled for footing.

Karkat's eyes trailed to Terezi. He expression was full of sadness and pity, and that was the last thing that did him in.

The next thing he knows, he's taking off down the hall as fast as he can, tears falling down his cheeks as he readily holds back sobs. He takes the stairs instead of the elevator, practically flying down the steps in an attempt to distract himself. After about 5 flights, he's slowing down and noticing the need to breathe. By the time he finished the stairs and makes it outside, he's collapsing on the sidewalk, fighting for air as the rain soaks through his sweater.

He continues to fight making any noise when people pass by, but he's finding it almost impossible 5 minutes later. The sound of a car stopping in front of him made him look up.

The door opened and let out Jade, the girl running up to Karkat and pulling him up, leading him to the passenger door. She gently pushed him into the car and jogged her way around the driver's door, ducking in. She turned up the heat and it made Karkat realize he was shaking violently.

Jade pulled out of the apartment lot and sped down the road.

It was only when Karkat let out a small sob that she stopped on the side of the road and pulled him into an embrace. She rubbed his back soothingly, making little "I know"s and "It's okay now"s to accompany her "shh"s. She tried to ignore the shift stick digging into her stomach.

After all, today was the day that Karkat Vantas' heart broke.


	3. Coping

"Poor thing passed right out...Uhh...what?...Oh yeah. He wasn't that heavy...Oh shut up. Sure, I'll bring him over some time if he wants...yeah, 2 years...don't say that in front of him or I will hurt you! And look, I'm not gonna force him because he's been through enough...Yeah, sure...okay...behave, John!"

Karkat opened his eyes, vision blurry. He rubbed his face with vigor and blinked more rapidly to clear his sight. The door across from him opened and revealed Jade along with the strong smell of breakfast.

"You're awake." She sounded relieved and her face was aglow with a stunning smile.

"No shit, Sherlock." The troll said, his words slurring.

Jade offered a smile in return and went on. "I made breakfast." She said, and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. In the sun, Karkat could see the brown tints to her normally black hair. Her eyes glittered and the way the sun hit them from the open window made his heart race. "Just come on out when you're ready. There's a change of clothes on the dresser." She left the room with a flourish, going on to whistle a tune.

Karkat yawned, stretching his arms in an almost cat-like way to the ceiling. He took a quick gaze at his surroundings. White curtains brushed against the soft green walls from the wind of the open window. The dresser straight across from him carried a mirror, showing a young troll with a rather unsightly head of hair staring blearily back at him. The reflection's gaze averted to the wall of sticky notes he seemed to overlook. There were colors of every kind, arranged haphazardly around the mirror. Looking closer, Karkat saw a big, looping scrawl that he recognized from the pumpkin notepad Jade had written on. The words on them began innocent enough, some saying "_dentist appointment on thursday!"_

"_call in work and ask for the afternoon off on friday"_

"_clean the kitchen_"

to others a bit more odd, like "_leave meat out for bec" _and

"_shift starts at 10 and ends at 7 everyday"_

The troll frowned and continued to read some more. A few others stood out, particularly the sticky note stating "ViSiT mE eVeRy OtHeR wEeKdAy :o)" in purple that Karkat recognized as Gamzee's handwriting.

A sticky note that was slightly larger than the rest was written on with messy blue writing and was underlined several times. Karkat got out of the bed, not minding the sheets tangled in between his legs. His short fingers grazed the note lightly. The bright "jade harley." with a picture of a crudely drawn human Nicolas Cage glared back at him and his eyebrows knitted together. He looked at the other sticky notes in attempt to get answers, but he found another curious note. "karkat vantas" written in green only greeted more puzzlement on Karkat's part.

Casting his gaze down, he tried to make sense of what he was seeing. He examined the clothes hanging out of the dresser. The sight of a bra told Karkat he was in Jade's room.

He slept in Jade's bed.

Letting out a less-than-manly yelp, Karkat tried to run out the bedroom door, only to trip from the sheets wrapped around his legs. He struggled to remove the mess from his legs and scrambled to the wall, pressing his back against it.

Another look around the room was all he needed. He sprang towards the pile of folded clothes left out for him and bolted out of the room. His head swivelled around to look for the bathroom. Upon locating it, he rushed in and locked the door securely behind him. He looked in the mirror and tried not to wince at how messy he looked.

He quickly removed his clothes and let them fall to the ground. He picked up the cargo pants awaiting him and tugged them on. They were pretty baggy on him, but they were supported nicely by his bony hips. Karkat picked up the shirt and examined it. It was dark blue with a large cursive "Hawaii" printed across it. It fit him, but he had a sneaking suspicion that it was a woman's shirt.

Nervously shifting his eyes, he lifted the shirt to his nose. It smelled like fresh grass and dirt and a distinct Jade smell. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he ran his fingers through his hair a few times before departing the bathroom.

As he made his way down stairs, he caught, again, onto part of Jade's conversation.

"I don't think we should make any decisions without consulting Karkat." He could see Jade holding her phone between her head and her shoulder, simultaneously flipping some bacon. "I'm sure he's sick of that...Yeah...Well I'll ask him what he wants to do...mhm...yeah, if so, we'll come over around 3. Thank you, Sollux...Bye!"

Karkat walked in as Jade set down her phone. "Oh good, the clothes fit. I was worried I might be too big of a size for you to fit my pants."

He blushed with the confirmation that he was, indeed, wearing her clothes. He chose to stay silent, instead watching her place a plate of bacon on the table. She turned to grab some oranges from a basket next to the refrigerator. She cut them in half and pressed them into an orange juicer. "It tastes drastically different from the carton kind, I promise. " She said, answering an unasked question. She gestured to one of the seats and with a "dig in" gesture and turned to finish the orange juice.

The troll did not need to be told twice. He immediately began shovelling food into his mouth. He wasted no time in eating the food, not caring when the bacon mixed with the fruit, or the eggs with the jelly. He stopped when he heard Jade giggle.

"What?" His growl was muffled by the hodge-podge of food in his mouth.

"Nothing." She chewed on some bacon thoughtfully.

Slowing down on his eating, Karkat took the time to look around. Jade's home was fairly large and very messy. He concluded that she probably lived with someone when he caught sight on a large gun rack on the far wall.

"Roommates with a gun-freak?" He asked in some odd attempt at conversation.

Jade laughed. "Oh, no, those are mine!"

"What? I thought you were a pacifist?" He said.

"Uhh, no?" She looked thoroughly confused.

"Tavros said that you were, back at Wal-Mart."

Jade's eyes widened in the slightest fraction. She got up from her seat and went to the kitchen counter and appeared to be scribbling something down. She returned shortly after and grinned. "Don't worry about it! I was just teasing you."

Deafening silence followed, as Jade ate her eggs with unnecessary fervor. "So..." Karkat scratched his neck. "Why were you talking to Sollux? I didn't know you two knew each other."

The human waved her fork flippantly. "I dated him in high school."

"Holy shit." Karkat blinked slowly. "You. And Sollux. You and Sollux were a thing? But I thought he was always vacillating with Eridan since freshman year?"

She shook her head. "Nope. Sollux took a break with Eridan and went to Feferi during sophomore year. When that happened, I dated Eridan. I dated Sollux during junior year, and Feferi when Sollux moved to your school."

"Damn. And then when our two schools had to merge we spent most of junior year and senior year as classmates." Karkat gulped down some orange juice. "If our friends were that mutual, how come I never met you or your brother?"

Jade shrugged. "Beats me."

When they both finished their breakfast, Jade got up and put the dishes in the sink.

"Wait so what happened after...you know." Karkat felt his face heat up at the memory. _I can't believe I just sat there and cried in her arms. That's so fucking embarrassing._

"Hmm. Well after you calmed down some, you stopped crying and your breathing slowed down so I figured you were asleep. I was feeling a bit sleepy myself." She smiled sheepishly. "Next thing I know, we've been asleep in a hugging position for 20 minutes straight! You were asleep still so I situated you into the seat and drove us home. You slept the whole night!"

"What time is it now?"

"Almost 8." She turned on the tap and started washing the dishes.

_So not only did I fall asleep on her like a baby, I also slept in her bed and now I'm wearing her clothes._ Karkat scrubbed his face with a hand. _Fuck._ He felt a stinging urge to change the subject.

"You never answered. Why were you talking to Sollux about me?" Karkat asked, balancing the rest of the dishes in his hands and walking towards Jade.

"Well, Terezi," she pronounced her name carefully. "is apparently going to sell her house." Karkat hated the way he couldn't correct her and call it Terezi _and his_ house anymore. "And Sollux said he'll help move everything that's your's out. But we just wanted to check and see if you're okay with that."

Karkat pressed his lips together. "Fine. Whatever, but..." He paused and shuffled anxiously beside Jade. "I don't have anywhere to fucking go."

Jade paused in her dish washing to fix Karkat with a look. "You know Sollux would never leave you hanging, and neither would I." She turned back to the dishes. "We both have rooms you can stay in until you get back on your feet. Plus, I think Gamzee and Tavros have a free room since they started sharing one."

"You're too busy taking care of your brother to worry about me." Karkat idly scratched his arm. "Gamzee and Tavros...well staying with them would be so fucking awkward. And Sollux...well he -"

Jade dropped the plate she was holding and it clanged loudly against the stainless steel sink. "You're just making excuses so you can prolong getting your stuff out of Terezi's place, aren't you?"

Karkat stammered and blushed, pushing himself off the counter. "Shut the fuck up." He can't deny the sting in his heart when Terezi is mentioned, but he had become skilled at pushing back his feelings. It had became easier to pretend he didn't care than to entertain thoughts of emotional pain.

The girl sighed exasperatedly. "You can take your time in making a decision, just be sure to give a little notice."

It was silent after that and Jade continued finishing up the dishes. Karkat sat on the counter beside her, feeling obligated somehow to stay by her side. Jade hummed a song that Karkat didn't recognize, sounding slightly sombre.

He leaned against the wall, closed his eyes and let Jade's singing lead him to sleep, her song staying in his reverie and echoing slightly in his brain.

He next felt a soft hand gently shaking his shoulder, waking him up.

"Hey there sleepy head," Jade grinned at him smacking his thighs. "I'm gonna go take a shower, so you can feel free to do whatever you like. TV remote's on the table." She said, departing the room and going upstairs.

Karkat pushed himself off the counter and stared around. Most of the shows on TV were focused on humans, and he felt unnatural watching them. So instead, he made his way to the door which he figured led to the backyard.

_Backyard,_ Karkat thought, _is an understatement._ Directly in front of him was a tall, white archway covered in tangled ivy that looked intricately placed. There were tall hedges on either side of the archway, blocking his view. He tried to look inside the archway but the combination of the bright sun and the darkness from inside the archway made him blind. He took a few cautious steps forward, his elbows brushing the ivy, tickling his grey skin. He breathed out slowly and continued his way. He was in a dark hallway completely made out of swirling ivy and soft bushes. His mind dully noted that Jade's backyard had a jarring resemblance to the forests in _Alice in Wonderland_.

He continued down the long, winding path darkened by overhead flora. He eventually reached an end, arriving in a circular room, complete with white benches. This time there were flowers adorning the ceiling of colors. Beside the flowers were white lights that twinkled softly.

Karkat tentatively sat on the bench, looking up at the flowers and lights above. He felt like his mind was clear, like he could think without any disturbances. He wondered if that was why Jade had it here.

_Well, I guess since I'm given the opportunity, I better decide where I'm going to live for the next few months. _He ran a hand through his hair. He felt like staying with Jade would be inappropriate. _But why?_ He found his mind asking him. _You'll just be her roommate, nothing more. What's holding you back? _Karkat felt as if ignoring his inner-self would be the best course of action at this point.

A rustling sound came from the bushes, making Karkat jump. He paused for a few seconds, eyes darting around. Being a troll made it easy to search in the dark, but he could find nothing with the twinkling lights messing up his focus. Eventually he gave up and closed his eyes, leaning back to lay on the bench.

_It's because you feel like you're already getting over Terezi, isn't it? You like Jade. You think she's cute. _Karkat didn't like how it felt to be harassed by his own mind. _No, you fucking stupid brain. I don't want to move in with her because I've only known her name since , and it's really creepy how she's known me for 2 years and knows too much about me._ Even as Karkat was grinding out the words in his brain, he felt as if he was just bullshitting himself.

The rustling was back, making the troll freeze again. The sound was more frenzied than before. He straightened his back, his eyes quickly zoning into the source of the noise. The bush was shaking violently. Karkat jumped behind the bench, peaking above the back rest.

Suddenly, the rustling stopped.

Karkat could only hear his own breath.

The silence was deafening. A giggle broke it as his eyes found a white spot in the bushes, but had little time to find what it was as it became well acquainted with his face.

He was on his back breathing heavily for air, but had trouble from the sharp pain in his chest. He cracked his eyes open a bit but could only see white. He heard an angel's voice.

"Bec! What the hell, man! I said to scare him, not kill him! Becquerel Harley, you get off him right now!"

The white left his vision and was replaced by the green of his surroundings. "Karkat, are you okay? I just wanted you to jump a little. Sorry Bec almost killed you." He registered the voice as Jade's. He tried to sit up, pausing when he felt a hand on the back of his head. "Oh no, you're bleeding! Shit, uhh, deep breath, deep breath!"

Karkat closed his eyes. He felt like he was underwater. Jade sounded drowned out. "Bec, I swear, he better not have a concussion or I will beat you down so hard."

He was being lifted up, he realized, when his face met with Jade's neck. He briefly wondered if his horns were pressing into her jaw before he finally fainted.


End file.
